Barford villagers hit out after war memorial bus stop relocated - The Stratford Observer

Barford villagers hit out after war memorial bus stop relocated

Stratford Editorial 19th Aug, 2017   0

OUTRAGED Barford villagers have hit out at a housing company after it relocated a bus stop which doubled as a war memorial.

Barford Heritage Group said it is appalled by the disrespect shown by Taylor Wimpey, whose development plans included filling in the bus lay-by next to the now obsolete memorial.

The shelter was built to reflect the architectural style of the village and was dedicated to the village’s fallen in 1949.

The villagers – some fellow comrades of those honoured – felt that the memorial should also have a practical role.




But the developers, who recently built a new estate in the centre of the village, are planning a new stop further along the Wellesbourne Road nearer to the centre, currently indicated by a temporary sign.

Heritage group member Ken Hope said: “This outrageous action completely defeats the purpose and value of this memorial to our local heroes who gave up their lives. Why should this disrespectful, thoughtless, unnecessary and inconvenient change be allowed to continue?


“The planned replacement bus shelter is to be further along the road but nowhere near the war memorial bus shelter and no longer in a central position.

“There are only two buses an hour. They typically stop for less than a minute and only if there are passengers. So this high level of disrespect could be seen as pandering to careless or impatient drivers, instead of remembering our fallen.”

Ken added there was no consultation with the Joint Parish Council or residents when a deal was made between housing company and Warwickshire County Council to move the bus stop.

And the parish council have questioned the safety of having no bus lay-by as it meant drivers could see around the bus before turning into the road.

A Taylor Wimpey spokesman said the changes were a condition of the planning permission granted by the council.

They added: “The removal of the lay-by is a traffic calming measure to reduce traffic speed while buses are stopping.

“With the removal of the lay‑by the old bus stop sign was taken down and a new temporary sign has been installed until it is replaced with a permanent signpost in the future.”

“The bus shelter on Wellesbourne Road remains untouched and is still available for use by the community. Any works related to our nearby development have not affected the structure or accessibility.”

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